To fullfil my need for a back-up goalie, I'm going to draft someone that knows what it takes to ride the pine and eat a copious amount of nachos and slim jims while your teammates battle out on the ice - Wendell Young.

Here he can be seen attempting to stand in crease.

Also, I will only draft him under the condition he wears the mullet seen here:

Approximate Ice Time Among Pens D-men:1971-72: 3rd in ATOI, 3rd in ES TOI, 2nd in PK (was 3rd in ATOI, ES TOI to players with 34 and 44 games, respectively - Burrows played 77)1972-73: 3rd in ATOI, 1st in ES TOI, 3rd in PK1973-74: 1st in ATOI, 1st in ES TOI, 1st in PK1974-75: 3rd in ATOI, 4th in ES TOI, 1st in PK1975-76: 1st in ATOI, 1st in ES TOI, 1st in PK1976-77: 2nd in ATOI, close 2nd in ES TOI, 3rd in PK1977-78: 2nd in ATOI, 1st in ES TOI, 1st in PK1980-81: 6th in ATOI, 6th in ES TOI, 6th in PK

---

Legends of Hockey wrote:Most people will agree that Bobby Orr is the best defenseman ever. But how about the best pure defensive defenseman? While there are a lot of candidates, one of them would have to be the heavily underrated and under appreciated Dave Burrows.

While Orr lit up the scoreboard during the 1970s, Burrows was busy preventing goals with the Pittsburgh Penguins...

Burrows wasn't a physically dominating, crease clearing blueliner. Instead he relied on a greater understanding of the game to be in perfect position no matter what scenario he was faced with. He was an expert shot blocker and above all else, was known as one of the best skaters of his time. He amazed many observers with his incredible speed and agility. Some felt he could skate faster backward than most could go forward.

"I took a lot of pride in being able to move laterally and backwards with great ease. It took a lot of practice, but it was something I enjoyed doing," he said.

"In fact, I used to get a big kick out of skating backwards on two-on-one breaks or one-on-one breaks against me when I was back on defense. It was a challenge trying to break up situations like that. I enjoyed that part of the game the most."

Unfortunately for Burrows and defensive minded rearguards like him during the 1970s, he received virtually no recognition. Bobby Orr revolutionized the way defensemen played the game. No longer were they on the ice to stop goals, but instead to create offense.

Ed. Note on last bolded: He was 3x Top-10 finisher for the Norris in that time!

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Feb. 5, 1976 wrote:...defensive star for the Pittsburgh Penguins. ||| The Penguins are surpassed in defensive ineptitude only by the Washington Capitals, Kansas City Scouts and New York Rangers. Burrows manages to rise above the record, a glittering example of a defenseman's defenseman. At long last, help is on the way.

The Pittsburgh Press - Oct. 14, 1975 wrote:"He is the best defenseman in hockey," Boileau said, "so why shouldn't he be on the ice?" That statement is easy to make as long as the cast remains on Bobby Orr's leg, but becoming the Penguins' designated "Superdefenseman" is all right with Burrows. ||| Boileau said he may even use Burrows on the point during the power play... ||| "He's cool out there," Boileau said, "and he anticipates well. The most important thing a pointman can do on the power play is keep the puck in the attacking zone, and Burrows does that well."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Jun. 22, 1973 wrote:Two of the brightest stars in the Penguins' galaxy will be around the Civic Arena scoring goals and stopping goals for some time to come...Dave Burrows, one of the most rapidly-rising defensive players whose future is unlimited, has autographed a three-year paper. ||| St. Paul (WHA) sought Burrows' services with a bundle of greenbacks. There seems to be little argument among hockey men that Burrows rapidly is becoming one of the best defensemen in the NHL. He is not spectacular, like some defensemen, but it is seldom an opposing player is able to get past him for a good shot on goal.

Last edited by mikey287 on Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Legends of Hockey wrote:One label that bothered Edestrand during his NHL career was being called an "offensive" defenseman. "I'm sick and tired of it," Edestrand complained, while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins "People say I get caught up ice a lot, but I'm trying to prove differently." From that verbal retort in 1973, Edestrand concentrated hard on dishing out more hits and not getting himself out of position. He became a more defensive player, but that was also the last time he scored more than ten goals in a season.

In 1973, it's estimated that Edestrand led the Penguins in ATOI and was an extremely close second to Dave Burrows for the lead in ES TOI - Edestrand played on both special teams units. In 1972, he was 5th in ATOI but behind two players that didn't play 50 games that year. He was on the top PP unit and played some PK as well.

Amazingly, he actually received a single vote for a postseason all-star team at defense (along with Burrows) in 1972! Probably just a Penguins writer that misspelled Burrows, but still interesting none the less...not worth a whole lot though...I was just happy to find a top pairing d-man for any stretch of time at this point...

EDIT: haha sorry, bad timing on the Burrows profile...

Also of note, I forget who ended up with Marc Boileau, but Burrows said that the guys weren't willing to play as hard for Boileau as they were for Ken Schinkel (his successor)...interesting little tidbit, figured I'd share...though, of note, that was pretty soon after Boileau was fired, so I wouldn't take it to the bank, but it's interesting that such a refined, classy player like Burrows who loved the Penguins and the Penguins loved him back would say that without provocation...

Last edited by mikey287 on Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Makes sense for the line, as you need someone that doesn't cross the far blueline to babysit Gardner haha

Looking over estimates - one year estimated that Morrison was dead last in ATOI for the Pens (forwards and defensemen) but was nearly first on the club in PK time (seconds per game behind even d-man Dave Burrows!). Talk about a specialist!

The estimate for 1976 says: less than 6 minutes per game at even strength (next player with 50+ games: John Bob Kelly at over 14.5 minutes at ES) but nearly 3.5 minutes on the PK!

1977: About 5.5 minutes per game at even strength (next player with 50+ games: Stan Gilbertson at nearly 10.5 minutes at ES) but nearly 2 mins/gm on the PK!

I've never seen numbers like that before. He literally didn't take a regular shift, but was out there mashing it on the penalty kill...